


Fish Out Of Water Defense Squad

by LeyenarTheAvenger



Category: Aquaman (2018), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BAMF Mera (DCU), Crossover, Cultural Differences, Die Hard References, Female Characters, M/M, Overpowered Arthur Curry, Please Don't Kill Me, The Author Regrets Nothing, Why Did I Write This?, arthur and mera adopt a girl, background Arthur/Mera, i love orm, orm learns a lot of things, yippee-kay-yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23735278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeyenarTheAvenger/pseuds/LeyenarTheAvenger
Summary: The aftermath of the war goes terribly wrong, and the Ocean Master has become a fish out of water. Determined to make things right, Arthur enlists the help of an old friend to save his half-brother, and the plan seems to be working. Little does he know that said friend is working for a wicked man known as Captain Lyle Rourke who, in turn, works for Dr. Stephen Shin, who has made a deal with Black Manta. Meanwhile, Orm has had enough, and decides to declare war on the surface once again...but the question is, how?My second AO3 original.
Relationships: Arthur Curry & Orm Marius, Arthur Curry/Mera, David Kane & Lyle Rourke, Orm Marius/Milo Thatch
Kudos: 8





	Fish Out Of Water Defense Squad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDestinyWay1000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDestinyWay1000/gifts).



> I'm surprised nobody made any _actual_ Aquaman/The Lost Empire crossovers yet.
> 
> This fic is loosely based on my abandoned project, "Ocean Master:Breaking Glass", which is, in turn, inspired by Landfall by Castalle. I'm still thinking of giving Orm his comics trident. Also, I'm presenting to you a quite different King Orvax who'd been living in my mind rent-free after I read something on Wattpad, in this story, he's gonna be written as a man who loves his family but his pride, paranoia and sense of duty push him to mold Orm into the Warrior-King he turns into. 
> 
> Finally, Arthur and Mera's gonna adopt an orphaned Xebel girl named Guinevere, King Nereus's wife Queen Doris will be talked about and that drum-playing octopus at the Ring Of Fire is gonna find love.

_22 Years Before "Aquaman"_

Atlanna stood on the balcony of her son's chambers and admired the majestic lights of her kingdom and sighed. Despite its beauty, the grand aquatic city brought no comfort to the queen. Every time she looked out at the vastness of her kingdom, she thought about the family she left behind. She battled the constant ache in her chest as she saw the bright lights dance across the ocean. _Arthur would have loved to see this,_ she thought and was thankful the sea carried away her tears. 

"Mother?" a small voice called out from behind. That tiny voice brought a genuine smile on the fair queen's lips. She turned around and swam at her youngest son. 

"Yes, my darling?" 

"Can you sing me that song again?" he asked as he fiddled with a starfish he found. Orm was a true joy that Atlanna had in Atlantis. While Orvax treated her with the respect of nobility, that was all she received. She knew that she could never expect love from this marriage but she had hoped at least a kind of friendship would bloom, especially with the loving innocent child they shared. But alas, in this sea of loneliness, she still had Orm, and she would occasionally sing him a song she heard on the surface. And now, he was asking her to sing it again, which she did. 

_You'll Never Know-Nicole Kidman_

_You'll never know just how much I miss you,_

_You'll never know just how much I care,_

_And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you,_

_You ought to know, for haven't I told you so,_

_A million or more times?_

_You went away and my heart went with you,_

_I speak your name in my every prayer,_

_If there is some other way to prove that I love you,_

_I swear I don't know how,_

_You'll never know if you don't know now._

* * *

King Orvax took on the responsibility of training Orm personally. He reasoned that his skill was unmatched and his trident had never known defeat.

It was only logical that the Crown Prince should learn from the best. However, that wasn't his only reason. He saw how close his son was to his mother and, he had to admit, he was a little jealous. It was impossible not to fall in love with Atlanna. Perhaps it was his own stoic manner that translated to others that he was unreachable or maybe he was just the sort who preferred it that way. As king he needed to be seen as something beyond reach. But he didn't intend that for his child. He knew that something had to change for his son if he was going to be the ruler Atlantis needed. At first these sessions were...awkward to put it mildly. He didn't know how to get more out of Orm besides "yes, sir" and "no, sir". It wasn't until he observed how Atlanna interacted with Orm that he understood. He wasn't training just another soldier. He needed to connect with him on a personal level if he had any hope of reaching Orm. So Orvax took Orm on a trip, just the two of them, to the Council Of The Kings.

"What is this place?" Orm asked with wide-eyed wonder. Above them were gigantic statues each holding a magnificent trident. The statues had their decaying arms raising their tridents as a symbol of unity.

"I brought you here," Orvax began, "to remind you why we're doing this training. This is the Council Of The Kings." he smiled as he rested his hands on Orm's shoulders.

"Our ancestors once came together, united in the face of tremendous odds. These great kings knew that only together will they push back against those who threaten their kingdoms." Orvax straightened himself and swam towards the tridents they left on the sea floor with Orm following closely behind. "I'm going to teach you all I know. I'm going to give you the right books and weapons but that last piece is going to come from you. Only you know what kind of king you want to be and only you will be responsible on how to get there. Do you understand?"

Orm nodded eagerly and reached for his trident. "Can we start now?" Orvax laughed as he nodded and began warm-up drills. Orm eagerly mirrored him.

* * *

While Orvax was away with Orm, Atlanna took a moment to think about Arthur and Tom. The only memento she kept from her time on the surface was a photo of Tom and Arthur but was encased in glass to prevent water damage. She took it out and sadly smiled at the image of Arthur. How big he must be! She imagined their laughter in the Lighthouse with Arthur's latest artwork decorating the refrigerator. Did he remember her? Was Tom still waiting for her at the end of the dock every sunrise? Did they miss her? 

"Oh, Tom," she sighed as she stroked the photo. "I miss you so much." 

"Who is Tom?" 

She was so wrapped up in her musings that she didn't hear Orvax come up behind her. Frightened, she clutched the photo to her chest. 

"O...Orvax! I..." 

"Who...is...Tom?" he demanded. His eyes honed in on the glass square in her hands. Atlanna moved to get away but Orvax was quicker. Before she could fight back, Orvax had one hand on her throat and the other squeezing her wrist so hard she thought he would break it. He looked at the photo with shock, then confusion, and then pure unadulterated rage. He released her and pried the photo from her hand. "So this was where you were, eh?" he growled. "Degrading yourself with those surface-dwellers? Abandoning your duties? Abandoning _me_?" 

"Orvax...please..." she pleaded. "They're innocent..." 

"And this child?" he snapped. "Who is this child?" 

"N...No one!" she exclaimed. 

"So I guess you won't be bothered if I traveled to the surface now and end him..." 

"No! Not my son!" 

There was a deadly silence between them. Atlanna knew that she made a mistake and prayed to the gods that she would be the only one to pay for it. 

"Your son?!" Her husband's voice thundered in the room. "This is your bastard? So you're telling me that you ran away and played peasant with a surface-dweller? On top of that. you birthed a half-breed mongrel?!" 

Atlanna held her head high but denied nothing. "They're my family." 

"So I guess Orm and I doesn't count." Orvax scoffed. "Just a constant reminder that you'd rather spend time on the surface." 

"No...Orm is..." 

"No. You don't get to pretend that you care about our son." He looked back at the photo and was disgusted at the happy smiles looking back. "This bastard is a threat to Orm..." 

"No, he's not!" Atlanna insisted. "He doesn't even know where to find Atlantis." 

"...he's the firstborn of the Queen of Atlantis...he could challenge Orm and kill him for the throne...my son..." 

"Banish me then!" declared Atlanna. "I'll keep Arthur away from Atlantis...you'll never see us..." 

"If you think I'm going to let you betray us like this then you are mad." Orvax retaliated. "If I banished you to the surface, you won't leave Orm behind. You'd either take him with you or try to keep in touch and slowly poison him against his people while waiting to hand over the throne to some degenerate. GUARDS!" 

Two palace guards came in, ready to obey their king. 

"Take the Queen into custody." Orvax commanded. "She's being charged with treason." 

Atlanna didn't beg or cry or throw herself at his feet even as her heart broke. She held her head high as the guards escorted her to the palace's dungeon. All the servants and courtiers gasped as they watched their Queen. As she was taken away, Orvax headed to his son's quarters. He wanted to be the first to break the news.

* * *

"Uh...did I do something wrong, Father?" 

Orvax sighed. "No, son. It's about your mother and something she did." 

"What happened?" asked little Orm. 

"She committed treason. She broke her marriage vows..." 

"I refuse to believe it." Orm declared. "Mother wouldn't do such a thing!" 

Orvax showed him the photo of Atlanna's other family. "Shortly after we were married, your mother ran away and went missing for three years. I guess now we know where she's been during that time." 

Orm looked at the photo then back at his father, desperately trying to understand. "So this is my brother?" he asked. 

"No!" Orvax growled as he wrenched the photo from his son's hands. "He's nothing to you but a threat. Nothing but a surface-dwelling bastard that will steal the throne from you." 

Orm stepped back and hung his head. "What happens now, will Mother be banished?" 

"Forgive me, son, but our most sacred traditions dictate what I do now and I've decided that she will be sacrificed to the Trench." 

Orm stared at his father in horror. His mother may have been unfaithful but she was still his kind beautiful mother. The idea of his precious mother being torn apart by monsters from the deep was devastating. Seeing Orm's reaction, Orvax justified his decision. "If I banished her, she'd go to the surface to be with her other family. There she would train her bastard, and perhaps make more like him, to overthrow you and take your birthright away along with your life." 

"Mother wouldn't do that!" Orm exclaimed. "She loves me, I'm her son!" 

"But not her firstborn." Orvax countered. "And your father isn't the one she loves. She abandoned her people and her duties to Atlantis for those three years; this is happening whether you like it or not. I hoped you had more time before you learned this lesson, but here it is. As a King, you aren't like anyone else. You can't show emotion like anyone else, you can't think like anyone else, you can't feel like anyone else, and sometimes, you have to do the most unsavory things in order to survive." He saw the fury and the devastation in Orm's eyes, but made no movement to offer comfort. "Her sentence will be carried out immediately. After I leave this room, you have 15 minutes to scream, cry, tear everything apart but when you step out of this room, you're going to be the Crown Prince I know you are. This is your first lesson on duty; no one is above our traditions and laws, not even a king or a queen." 

Orvax turned to leave but then he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder.

_"I understand, Father."_

In fact, he didn't but he felt that his father needed to hear it. 

The king patted his son's hair. "You're a good son, Orm. I wish your mother and I were worthy of you."

* * *

The cell in the Atlantean warship was cold and lonely. It was fortunate that Atlanna had enough pull with the crew to get Vulko to visit her. 

"Your Majesty." Vulko bowed. 

"My friend, I need to ask you a favor. It's a big favor that might cost you your life." 

"Anything for you. Just say the word, my Queen." 

"I need you to go to the surface and protect my son Arthur. There's a lighthouse in Amnesty Bay, Maine. You'll find him there." Atlanna allowed herself to cry at least for the moment. "Tell him that I love him and that none of this is his fault." 

"I will, my Queen." Vulko declared. "I'll keep both your sons safe." 

"Thank you, my friend." Atlanna said. "Now go, before Orvax gets suspicious." 

"Farewell, my Queen." Vulko saluted, and gave his liege one last look before exiting the prison cell. 

Atlanna hoped that Orm could come to say goodbye. She wanted to tell him everything in her own words. That no matter what his father told him, Arthur won't ever hurt him. That they were brothers, and brothers would protect each other. However, she feared that Orvax was keeping him from seeing her thus robbing her of her last goodbye to punish her further. The guards' arrival told her that they reached the Trench and her time had come. She gracefully swam to the throne room where most of Orvax's supporters stood to watch her execution. To her surprise, Orm was there, next to his father. 

"Please remove the Crown Prince from this room." Atlanna pleaded. "He doesn't need to see this." 

"You're in no position to make demands." King Orvax's authoritative voice rang across the room, sending shivers to the court's spines. "By our most sacred traditions, I demand blood to pay for this betrayal. You abandoned your people, your husband, and duties as Queen when you gave yourself to a surface-dweller and birthed a half-breed." Some of the court members murmured in shock and others glared at her with disgust in their eyes. "For these crimes, I sacrifice you to the Trench." 

Atlanna's eyes never left Orm. At least with Arthur, she got to squeeze him tight and feel his tiny body against hers. She got to smell his soft curls and feel his breath on her skin. Poor Orm wouldn't have that. The memory of his mother's disgrace and execution would be his to cherish until the end of his days. She tried to convey her sorrow to him when their eyes met and hoped that as he grew, he would remember her and everything she taught him. King Orvax slammed his trident into the floor, sending a thundering CLANG through the room. The guards escorted Atlanna to the sacrificial chamber, her literal death-bed. She carried herself with dignity as she swam closer and closer to her fate, turning one last time towards Orm. 

"I love you, my son." she whispered as she entered the chamber.

_You'll never know just how much I miss you,_

_You'll never know just how much I care,_

_And if I tried,_

_I still couldn't hide my love for you,_

_You'll never know just how much I miss you,_

_You'll never know just how much I care,_

_You said good-bye, no stars in the sky refuse to shine,_

_Take it from me, it's no fun to be alone,_

_With moonlight and memories,_

_You went away and my heart went with you,_

_I speak your name in my every prayer,_

_If there is some other way to prove that I love you,_

_I swear I don't know how,_

_You'll never know if you don't know now._


End file.
